31 Aug 2020 - Lecture12 Exceptionhandling
31 Aug 2020 - Lecture12 Exceptionhandling
The Exception Handling in Java is one of the powerful mechanism to handle the runtime errors
so that normal flow of the application can be maintained.
The core advantage of exception handling is to maintain the normal flow of the application. An
exception normally disrupts the normal flow of the application that is why we use exception
handling. Let's take a scenario:
1. statement 1;
2. statement 2;
3. statement 3;
4. statement 4;
5. statement 5;//exception occurs
6. statement 6;
7. statement 7;
8. statement 8;
9. statement 9;
10. statement 10;
Suppose there are 10 statements in your program and there occurs an exception at statement 5, the
rest of the code will not be executed i.e. statement 6 to 10 will not be executed. If we perform
exception handling, the rest of the statement will be executed. That is why we use exception
handling in Java.
There are mainly two types of exceptions: checked and unchecked. Here, an error is considered as
the unchecked exception. According to Oracle, there are three types of exceptions:
1. Checked Exception
2. Unchecked Exception
3. Error
Difference between Checked and Unchecked Exceptions
1) Checked Exception
The classes which directly inherit Throwable class except RuntimeException and Error are known
as checked exceptions e.g. IOException, SQLException etc. Checked exceptions are checked at
compile-time.
2) Unchecked Exception
The classes which inherit RuntimeException are known as unchecked exceptions e.g.
ArithmeticException, NullPointerException, ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException etc. Unchecked
exceptions are not checked at compile-time, but they are checked at runtime.
3) Error
Keyword Description
The "try" keyword is used to specify a block where we should place exception code. The
try try block must be followed by either catch or finally. It means, we can't use try block
alone.
The "catch" block is used to handle the exception. It must be preceded by try block which
catch
means we can't use catch block alone. It can be followed by finally block later.
The "finally" block is used to execute the important code of the program. It is executed
finally
whether an exception is handled or not.
throw The "throw" keyword is used to throw an exception.
The "throws" keyword is used to declare exceptions. It doesn't throw an exception. It
throws specifies that there may occur an exception in the method. It is always used with method
signature.
1. public class JavaExceptionExample{
2. public static void main(String args[]){
3. try{
4. //code that may raise exception
5. int data=100/0;
6. }catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
7. //rest code of the program
8. System.out.println("rest of the code...");
9. }
10. }
Output:
In the above example, 100/0 raises an ArithmeticException which is handled by a try-catch block.
1. int a=50/0;//ArithmeticException
If we have a null value in any variable, performing any operation on the variable throws a
NullPointerException.
1. String s=null;
2. System.out.println(s.length());//NullPointerException
The wrong formatting of any value may occur NumberFormatException. Suppose I have a string
variable that has characters, converting this variable into digit will occur NumberFormatException.
1. String s="abc";
2. int i=Integer.parseInt(s);//NumberFormatException
4) A scenario where ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException occurs
If you are inserting any value in the wrong index, it would result in
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException as shown below:
1. int a[]=new int[5];
2. a[10]=50; //ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
If an exception occurs at the particular statement of try block, the rest of the block code will not
execute. So, it is recommended not to keeping the code in try block that will not throw an
exception.
1. try{
2. //code that may throw an exception
3. }catch(Exception_class_Name ref){}
1. try{
2. //code that may throw an exception
3. }finally{}
The catch block must be used after the try block only. You can use multiple catch block with a
single try block.
Problem without exception handling
Let's try to understand the problem if we don't use a try-catch block.
Example 1
public class TryCatchExample1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Test it Now
Output:
As displayed in the above example, the rest of the code is not executed (in such case, the rest of
the code statement is not printed).
There can be 100 lines of code after exception. So all the code after exception will not be executed.
Example 2
public class TryCatchExample2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
}
//handling the exception
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero
rest of the code
Now, as displayed in the above example, the rest of the code is executed, i.e., the rest of the code
statement is printed.
Example 3
In this example, we also kept the code in a try block that will not throw an exception.
public class TryCatchExample3 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
// if exception occurs, the remaining statement will not exceute
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
// handling the exception
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
}
}
Output:
java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero
Here, we can see that if an exception occurs in the try block, the rest of the block code will not
execute.
Example 4
public class TryCatchExample4 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
}
// handling the exception by using Exception class
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
java.lang.ArithmeticException: / by zero
rest of the code
Example 5
public class TryCatchExample5 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
}
// handling the exception
catch(Exception e)
{
// displaying the custom message
System.out.println("Can't divided by zero");
}
}
}
Output:
Example 6
public class TryCatchExample6 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
int i=50;
int j=0;
int data;
try
{
data=i/j; //may throw exception
}
// handling the exception
catch(Exception e)
{
// resolving the exception in catch block
System.out.println(i/(j+2));
}
}
}
Output:
25
Example 7
In this example, along with try block, we also enclose exception code in a catch block.
public class TryCatchExample7 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data1=50/0; //may throw exception
}
// handling the exception
catch(Exception e)
{
// generating the exception in catch block
int data2=50/0; //may throw exception
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
Here, we can see that the catch block didn't contain the exception code. So, enclose exception code
within a try block and use catch block only to handle the exceptions.
Example 8
In this example, we handle the generated exception (Arithmetic Exception) with a different type of
exception class (ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException).
public class TryCatchExample8 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int data=50/0; //may throw exception
}
// try to handle the ArithmeticException using ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
Example 9
public class TryCatchExample9 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try
{
int arr[]= {1,3,5,7};
System.out.println(arr[10]); //may throw exception
}
// handling the array exception
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: 10
rest of the code
Example 10
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
public class TryCatchExample10 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
PrintWriter pw;
try {
pw = new PrintWriter("jtp.txt"); //may throw exception
pw.println("saved");
}
// providing the checked exception handler
catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
System.out.println(e);
}
System.out.println("File saved successfully");
}
}
Output:
But if exception is handled by the application programmer, normal flow of the application is
maintained i.e. rest of the code is executed.
Points to remember
At a time only one exception occurs and at a time only one catch block is executed.
All catch blocks must be ordered from most specific to most general, i.e. catch for
ArithmeticException must come before catch for Exception.
Example 1
public class MultipleCatchBlock1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=30/0;
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Arithmetic Exception occurs");
}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println("ArrayIndexOutOfBounds Exception occurs");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println("Parent Exception occurs");
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
Example 2
public class MultipleCatchBlock2 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
System.out.println(a[10]);
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Arithmetic Exception occurs");
}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println("ArrayIndexOutOfBounds Exception occurs");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println("Parent Exception occurs");
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
In this example, try block contains two exceptions. But at a time only one exception occurs and its
corresponding catch block is invoked.
public class MultipleCatchBlock3 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=30/0;
System.out.println(a[10]);
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Arithmetic Exception occurs");
}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println("ArrayIndexOutOfBounds Exception occurs");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println("Parent Exception occurs");
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
Example 4
In this example, we generate NullPointerException, but didn't provide the corresponding exception
type. In such case, the catch block containing the parent exception class Exception will invoked.
public class MultipleCatchBlock4 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
try{
String s=null;
System.out.println(s.length());
}
catch(ArithmeticException e)
{
System.out.println("Arithmetic Exception occurs");
}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e)
{
System.out.println("ArrayIndexOutOfBounds Exception occurs");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
System.out.println("Parent Exception occurs");
}
System.out.println("rest of the code");
}
}
Output:
Example 5
Let's see an example, to handle the exception without maintaining the order of exceptions (i.e. from
most specific to most general).
class MultipleCatchBlock5{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=30/0;
}
catch(Exception e){System.out.println("common task completed");}
catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println("task1 is completed");}
catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){System.out.println("task 2 completed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Compile-time error
Java Nested try block
The try block within a try block is known as nested try block in java.
Sometimes a situation may arise where a part of a block may cause one error and the entire block
itself may cause another error. In such cases, exception handlers have to be nested.
Syntax:
1. ....
try
{
statement 1;
statement 2;
try
{
statement 1;
statement 2;
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
}
catch(Exception e)
{
}
class Excep6{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
try{
System.out.println("going to divide");
int b =39/0;
}catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
try{
int a[]=new int[5];
a[5]=4;
}catch(ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException e){System.out.println(e);}
System.out.println("other statement);
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("handeled");}
System.out.println("normal flow..");
}
}
Note: If you don't handle exception, before terminating the program, JVM executes finally
block(if any).
Case 1
Let's see the java finally example where exception doesn't occur.
1. class TestFinallyBlock{
2. public static void main(String args[]){
3. try{
4. int data=25/5;
5. System.out.println(data);
6. }
7. catch(NullPointerException e){System.out.println(e);}
8. finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
9. System.out.println("rest of the code...");
10. }
11. }
Output:5
finally block is always executed
rest of the code...
Case 2
Let's see the java finally example where exception occurs and not handled.
class TestFinallyBlock1{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int data=25/0;
System.out.println(data);
}
catch(NullPointerException e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:finally block is always executed
Exception in thread main java.lang.ArithmeticException:/ by zero
Case 3
Let's see the java finally example where exception occurs and handled.
public class TestFinallyBlock2{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
int data=25/0;
System.out.println(data);
}
catch(ArithmeticException e){System.out.println(e);}
finally{System.out.println("finally block is always executed");}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Rule: For each try block there can be zero or more catch blocks, but only one finally block.
Note: The finally block will not be executed if program exits(either by calling System.exit() or
by causing a fatal error that causes the process to abort).
We can throw either checked or uncheked exception in java by throw keyword. The throw keyword
is mainly used to throw custom exception. We will see custom exceptions later.
1. throw exception;
1. throw new IOException("sorry device error);
public class TestThrow1{
static void validate(int age){
if(age<18)
throw new ArithmeticException("not valid");
else
System.out.println("welcome to vote");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
validate(13);
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:
Exception Handling is mainly used to handle the checked exceptions. If there occurs any unchecked
exception such as NullPointerException, it is programmers fault that he is not performing check up
before the code being used.
1. return_type method_name() throws exception_class_name{
2. //method code
3. }
import java.io.IOException;
class Testthrows1{
void m()throws IOException{
throw new IOException("device error");//checked exception
}
void n()throws IOException{
m();
}
void p(){
try{
n();
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("exception handled");}
}
public static void main(String args[]){
Testthrows1 obj=new Testthrows1();
obj.p();
System.out.println("normal flow...");
}
}
Output:
exception handled
normal flow...
Rule: If you are calling a method that declares an exception, you must either
caught or declare the exception.
1. Case1:You caught the exception i.e. handle the exception using try/catch.
2. Case2:You declare the exception i.e. specifying throws with the method.
In case you handle the exception, the code will be executed fine whether exception occurs
during the program or not.
import java.io.*;
class M{
void method()throws IOException{
throw new IOException("device error");
}
}
public class Testthrows2{
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
M m=new M();
m.method();
}catch(Exception e){System.out.println("exception handled");}
System.out.println("normal flow...");
}
}
Test it Now
Output:exception handled
normal flow...
A)In case you declare the exception, if exception does not occur, the code will be executed
fine.
B)In case you declare the exception if exception occurs, an exception will be thrown at
runtime because throws does not handle the exception.
Test it Now
Output:device operation performed
normal flow...
1) Rule: If the superclass method does not declare an exception, subclass overridden method
cannot declare the checked exception.
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg(){System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild extends Parent{
void msg()throws IOException{
System.out.println("TestExceptionChild");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild();
p.msg();
}
}
Test it Now
Output:Compile Time Error
2) Rule: If the superclass method does not declare an exception, subclass overridden method
cannot declare the checked exception but can declare unchecked exception.
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg(){System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild1 extends Parent{
void msg()throws ArithmeticException{
System.out.println("child");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild1();
p.msg();
}
}
Output:child
1) Rule: If the superclass method declares an exception, subclass overridden method can
declare same, subclass exception or no exception but cannot declare parent exception.
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg()throws ArithmeticException{System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild2 extends Parent{
void msg()throws Exception{System.out.println("child");}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild2();
try{
p.msg();
}catch(Exception e){}
}
}
Output:Compile Time Error
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg()throws Exception{System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild3 extends Parent{
void msg()throws Exception{System.out.println("child");}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild3();
try{
p.msg();
}catch(Exception e){}
}
}
Output:child
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg()throws Exception{System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild4 extends Parent{
void msg()throws ArithmeticException{System.out.println("child");}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild4();
try{
p.msg();
}catch(Exception e){}
}
}
Output:child
import java.io.*;
class Parent{
void msg()throws Exception{System.out.println("parent");}
}
class TestExceptionChild5 extends Parent{
void msg(){System.out.println("child");}
public static void main(String args[]){
Parent p=new TestExceptionChild5();
try{
p.msg();
}catch(Exception e){}
}
}
Output:child
By the help of custom exception, you can have your own exception and message.
class InvalidAgeException extends Exception{
InvalidAgeException(String s){
super(s);
}
}
class TestCustomException1{
static void validate(int age)throws InvalidAgeException{
if(age<18)
throw new InvalidAgeException("not valid");
else
System.out.println("welcome to vote");
}
public static void main(String args[]){
try{
validate(13);
}catch(Exception m){System.out.println("Exception occured: "+m);}
System.out.println("rest of the code...");
}
}
Output:Exception occured: InvalidAgeException:not valid
rest of the code...
Additional Notes
Output:exception handled
normal flow...
In the above example exception occurs in m() method where it is not handled,so it is propagated to
previous n() method where it is not handled, again it is propagated to p() method where exception is
handled.
Exception can be handled in any method in call stack either in main() method,p() method,n()
method or m() method.
Rule: By default, Checked Exceptions are not forwarded in calling chain (propagated).